Prevalence of Gambling Disorder Among Prisoners: A Systematic Review

• Author: Victoria Olive,James Banks,Catrin Andersson,Jaime Waters
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19862430
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X19862430

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2020, Vol. 64(12) 1199 –1216

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19862430

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Article

Prevalence of Gambling

Disorder Among Prisoners:

A Systematic Review

James Banks1, Jaime Waters1, Catrin Andersson1,

and Victoria Olive1

Abstract

This article presents the first systematic review of studies on the prevalence of

gambling disorder among prisoners across international jurisdictions. Only original

studies that were published in English and employed reliable and valid screening tools

are included in this analysis. The review finds that rates of problem or pathological

gambling in prison populations are highly variable, ranging from 5.9% to 73% of

male and female inmates surveyed. Nevertheless, recorded rates of problem and

pathological gambling among inmates are consistently and significantly higher than

rates of problem and pathological gambling recorded among the general population.

The review indicates that the institution of problem gambling treatment programmes

in carceral settings is necessary, to aid community re-entry and reduce the likelihood

of re-offending. Moreover, it is suggested that the screening of inmates should become

standard practice across penal institutions and other criminal justice organisations,

with a view to better addressing the needs of offenders.

Keywords

gambling disorder, prison, prisoner, pathological gambling, problem gambling,

systematic review

Introduction

Commercial gambling opportunities continue to grow across much of the world. The

deregulation and liberalisation of gambling throughout many jurisdictions, which

1Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Corresponding Author:

James Banks, Department of Law and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, Heart of the Campus

Building, Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield S10 2BQ, UK.

Email: j.banks@shu.ac.uk

862430IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X19862430International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyBanks et al.

research-article2019

1200 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 64(12)

began in the 1970s and continues apace today, have led to increased participation rates,

industry profits, and state taxation revenues (Banks, 2017). In particular, the neoliberal

economic policies pursued by most Western nations have led to a cultural climate that

is conducive to a sustained growth in (increasingly potent) gambling provision. In

turn, lotteries, casino gaming, sports and horse race betting, electronic machine gam-

bling, bingo, and online wagering have become commonplace activities and popular

leisure pursuits. Yet, alongside the widespread availability of gambling products and

services, there is growing public and political concern that gambling results in serious

harms for some gamblers, their families, and wider society, including, but not limited

to, debt, unemployment, deterioration in personal health and self-esteem, and increased

rates of problem gambling and crime (Orford, 2011).

Problematic gambling is clearly a significant criminogenic variable, with research

studies identifying rates of gambling-related crime that range from 4% to 90% among

criminal justice populations (Perrone, Jansons, & Morrison, 2013). Gambling disorder

has been recognised as underpinning a broad range of offending behaviour, as crimes

can be committed to fund gambling activities or gambling-related shortfalls in finance

(Blaszczynski, 1994; Blaszczynski & McConaghy, 1992, 1994). Crimes of fidelity

and acquisitive crimes have typically been identified in studies of gambling-related

crime, although there is emerging evidence that gambling may be linked to drug

offences and acts of violence (Ashcroft, Daniels, & Hart, 2004; Dowling et al., 2014;

Roberts et al., 2016). As such, ascertaining the extent of gambling disorder among

prisoners would help inform public health interventions in carceral settings and may

have implications for resettlement. Estimates of the prevalence of gambling disorder

within prison populations are important, as they can help shape treatment while in

custody and encourage support seeking upon re-entry into society. Moreover, the cap-

tive nature of the prison population presents opportunity for courts to mandate treat-

ment as part of offenders’ prison-based rehabilitation (McKenna, Brown, Rossen, &

Gooder, 2013).

Responding to the lack of recent reviews of gambling disorder among inmates,

this article presents the first systematic review of the prevalence of problem and

pathological gambling within prison populations. Given that effective treatment of

gambling disorder may reduce the likelihood of individuals reoffending, estimating

the need for problem gambling treatment provision within correctional populations is

a priority. Our review reports on English language studies examining the extent of

problem and pathological gambling among prisoners across international jurisdic-

tions, with a view to informing rehabilitative programmes targeted at correctional

populations. Although previous narrative reviews (Lahn, 2005; Williams, Royston, &

Hagen, 2005) have examined gambling, problem gambling, and pathological gam-

bling within forensic populations, to date, researchers have failed to employ a sys-

tematic approach when reviewing such studies. As Farrington and Jolliffe (2017)

note, systematic reviews “are less biased, more valid, and more rigorous than the

more usual narrative reviews” (p. 3), and researchers should seek to adopt such an

approach where appropriate. In response, we undertook an updated and systematic

review of peer-reviewed studies.